While most automakers rely on computers to command their semi-autonomous systems, Nissan is researching how to let drivers control the technology – with their brains! No it’s not experimenting with mutant genes to give car owners X-Men-like powers, but rather studying how drivers’ brains precisely respond to certain obstacles on the road.

With Brain-to-Vehicle, or B2V, technology, Nissan measures the driver’s brain-wave activity and looks for any signs of them preparing to brake, steer, or accelerate. Indicators are then transmitted to the car’s semi-autonomous system, which can then initiate those actions 0.2 to 0.5 seconds faster than the driver. This extra help is mostly undetectable by the driver, but it can vastly improve reaction times.

The prototype for the system is currently a skullcap with dotted electrodes connected to a series of wires. It resembles the same kind of device commonly used for electroencephalography, or EEG, and likewise uses the technology to function. EEG is a method of monitoring electrical activity in the brain that has been used for everything from medical testing to videogames.

Nissan has unveiled technology that will enable vehicles to interpret signals from the driver’s brain.

So, why would a company that has promised a fully autonomous car by 2022 be interested in working so hard to improve the future of driving? It turns out Nissan believes it is a task that will always be a significant part of our world.

“We imagine a future where manual driving is still a value of society,” said Dr. Lucian Gheorghe, senior innovation researcher at the Nissan Research Center in Japan. “Driving pleasure is something as humans we should not lose.”

Nissan also recognizes the potential benefits B2V could hold for future autonomous systems as it has the ability to detect and analyze driver discomfort as well. By doing so it could be possible for the technology to adjust an autonomous vehicle’s driving style and configuration while also using augmented reality to create a more relaxing environment for the driver.

Brain-to-Vehicle technology is able to improve the driver's reaction time to obstacles in the road by detecting when the driver plans to make an evasive maneuver. The system then initiates the actual maneuver itself.

“When most people think about autonomous driving, they have a very impersonal vision of the future, where humans relinquish control to the machines,” said Nissan Executive Vice President Daniele Schillaci. “Yet B2V technology does the opposite, by using signals from their own brain to make the drive even more exciting and enjoyable. Through Nissan Intelligent Mobility, we are moving people to a better world by delivering more autonomy, more electrification and more connectivity.”

Nissan will demonstrate the new B2V technology using a driving simulator at The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next week in Las Vegas.